For a day trip you need very little: quick-dry shorts, a synthetic t-shirt, river shoes or strapped sandals, sunscreen, and a full change of dry clothes to leave at base. Skip cotton, skip jeans, and skip flip-flops — they leave your feet the moment a wave hits.
Sunglasses need a retainer cord. A cap helps more than you expect in April and May. If you wear contact lenses, bring a spare set.
For the Devprayag expedition, add a fleece for the evening, a head torch, a personal water bottle, and one small bag of dry camp clothes. Everything on the raft must fit in a dry bag, so pack once and pack short.
Leave behind: your good phone, jewellery, anything you would be upset to see float away. Our photo team covers the rapids so you do not need to.